Bunkers' battle awaiting just over the hill

There are two undefeated teams remaining in the New England
Small College Athletic Conference and they each have a Bunker in
the backfield.

Amherst stayed unbeaten by outgunning Middlebury 42-28 with Eric
Bunker rushing for 130 yards and four touchdowns. Trinity spanked
Hamilton 35-0 for its 41st consecutive victory at Jessee-Miller
Field with Evan Bunker romping for 108 yards and two
touchdowns.

The Lord Jeffs and Bantams both can't stay perfect forever. The
Bantams travel to Amherst on Nov. 5.

The teams were 6-0 when they met last season. Imagine the
conflict of parents Lauren and David Bunker as they watched their
boys on opposite teams.

"Mom had a scarf that was both purple and gold. My little
brother wore a Trinity hat and Amherst jersey," Evan said. "They
sat on the 50-yard line and rooted for the team on offense."

Rooting for the offenses can be fun. Evan and Eric are a threat
for the 100-yard game each time they take the field.

But what does the family do on all the other Saturdays?

"They look at the schedule and try to pick the biggest game or
the closest game," Evan said.

That would be the closest game to Topsfield, Mass., where the
Bunkers used to play together, wearing the uniform of Masconomet
Regional High School.

This year will be the final time for playing against one another
for Eric is a senior.

Eric was looking at schools in the Ivy and Patriot leagues as
well as the NESCAC. He went to prep school and when he visited
Amherst he was sold.

"I committed early decision. I really liked my visit. I liked
the campus and the coaches," he said.

Then, he got a pretty big surprise when he found out his younger
brother, now a sophomore at Trinity, was coming to a NESCAC
rival.

"He wasn't even looking at the NESCAC, so when he said he was
going to Trinity, I was shocked," Eric said.

"I was close to going to Union and I was also looking at UNH
(New Hampshire). Trinity came into the recruiting process late,"
Evan said. "I visited and I loved it."

Evan said in some ways he has been competing against his older
brother all his life.

"There was always that brotherly competition," he
said. "And we played with each other in high school. Now, it's
really cool to be on the other side. Not many brothers can say they
have done that."

Last year Evan logged a school-record 45 carries against
Amherst.

"We had a new quarterback and we were looking to run the ball
more in that game. But we didn't have any plans for me to get 45
carries," Evan said.

Not surprisingly, with two siblings in the NESCAC, education was
stressed in the Bunker home.

"My parents always stressed grades. My grandparents, aunts
and uncles were all over us about our grades," Evan said.

"It was always education first," Eric said. "The main objective
was for football to help get us into a better school."

There is a lot of football to be played and plenty can change
before Nov. 5. But a battle of unbeaten teams with the Bunkers on
the field becomes more of a possibility as the weeks go by.

"It's always in the back of your mind, but we just try to take
it one game at a time," Evan said.

They each pile up impressive statistics, but they do it in
different ways.

"It's hard to know your own style, but from what people have
said, I am more of an inside power runner. I get my 4 or 5 yards
and go on to the next play.

"Eric is more of a finesse runner and he's a little faster."

Eric concurs.

"He's a little bit bigger and more of a downhill runner," he
said.

"The Trinity game always has huge implications," Eric said.
"It's not Williams, but we hate them just as much.

"And my brother is another player on the other team. He's
wearing the other jersey.

"After the game we get back to being brothers."

One of the best things about being an Amherst or Williams player
is the game against one another, Division's III's longest rivalry
and one with tons of passion and pageantry.

"It's a phenomenal experience," Eric said of the Williams game.
"You are playing before a crowd of upwards og 10,000. The game is
televised on NESN and it's shown around the world.

"People I don't even know are coming up to me saying, 'Beat
Williams.'"

The Amherst-Williams game has the tag "Biggest Little Game in
America."

But for the Bunker family, the biggest game of all comes a week
earlier.

Offense on display for Jeffs, Panthers

It wasn't all Eric Bunker and his four touchdowns. Matt Rawson
kicked two field goals to become Amherst's all-time leader with 23
and Middlebury's McCallum Foote threw for 400 yards and three
touchdowns.

Bobcats' revenge

Bates had had enough from Williams. That made the Bobcats' 35-26
win over the Ephs on the road plenty sweet. It marked the first
time since 2003 Bates had beaten Williams and the first time since
2002 the 2-1 Bobcats had won two straight games.

Ryan Curit ran for 102 yards and a touchdown for Bates and
Trevor Smith fired three touchdown passes with John Squires
catching two of them.

Polar eclipse

The Bowdoin Polar Bears made some history. It is thought to be
the first time two players on the same team returned an
interception at least 99 yards for a score. Griffin Cardew
took his pick back 100 yards and roommate Joey Cleary returned his
interception 99 yards for a TD.

Best of all for Bowdoin, it was a 27-6 victory over Tufts.

The other Maine NESCAC team was not as fortunate. Wesleyan beat
Colby 28-21 behind LaDarius Drew. Drew, quickly branding himself as
one of the best backs in the NESCAC, ran for 114 yards and three
touchdowns. One his scores was a burst of 72 yards.

Rams keep it going

Framingham State continues to be a big story in the New
England Football Conference. The Rams keep going down the
depth chart to find new quarterbacks as injuries strike again and
again. But they are 3-0 in the Bogan Division of the NEFC after
whipping Fitchburg State 41-7.

This time it was Dino Mancinelli throwing three TD passes with
James McCarthy hauling in two of them.

Melikke Van Alstyne took much of the pressure off him by
collecting 171 yards on 26 carries while scoring two
touchdowns.

Lancers suffer first loss

Worcester State lost for the first time in the sixth game of the
season. Knocking the Lancers from the ranks of the unbeaten was
Massachusetts Maritime and the Bucs did it in dramatic fashion with
Matt White scoring with 40 seconds left for the 23-19 victory.

Walter Butler was a wrecking crew for the Bucs. He had 11
tackles, three for a loss, along with a forced fumble that set up
the winning touchdown. He also blocked his third kick of the
season.

Bridgewater State got plenty out of Mike McCarthy in a
34-16 victory over Coast Guard. He ran for two scores and threw for
two.

Salve Regina got the same type of performance from freshman
quarterback Bradley Skeffington in a 38-7 thumping of
UMass-Dartmouth. Skeffington threw for 208 yards and two
touchdowns and ran for one.

Maine Maritime bounced back from its loss to Worcester State by
edging Westfield State 36-34 in two overtimes. Maine Maritime
quarterback Matt Rende had 151 yards and two touchdowns on 21
carries.

Mulcahy picks off MIT

Plymouth State's Christian Mulcahy intercepted two passes and
kicked a 42-yard field goal to help the Panthers to a 30-27 win
over MIT. Mulcahy, who seems to distinguish himself on special
teams and everywhere else on the field each week, had help
from Andrew Foglia and Dustin Matthews. Foglia rushed for 118 yards
and Matthews for two touchdowns.

More glory for the Gulls

Endicott stayed on course for accomplishing something memorable.
The Gulls stretched their record to 6-0 by whipping Nichols 51-14
as Phil Konopka threw for three touchdowns and workhorse Mike Lane
had 131 yards to show for his 30 carries. Konopka's roommate Ryan
Carino caught two touchdown passes.

Western New England can't be counted out of anything. The Golden
Bears extended their record to 5-1 and 3-0 in the Boyd Division
with a 37-20 victory over Curry. WNE freshman running back
Kevin Cook rushed for 91 yards and scored his first
two collegiate touchdowns.

Taste of Maple sweet for Cadets

The Norwich Cadets took home the Maple Sap Bucket for the
third straight year, beating Vermont rival Castleton 40-21.
Norwich quarterback Kris Sabourin roared 63 yards to a touchdown on
the game's first play from scrimmage and ran for an 89-yard TD
later in the first quarter. Sabourin finished with 229 yards and
three touchdowns. Andrew Fulford added 153 yards and two
touchdowns. Freshman Derrick Pitts contributed 68 yards
rushing and 52 more receiving.

"Our offense controlled the football and that's exactly what we
wanted to do," Norwich coach Mark Murnyack said.

The Cadets are 3-0 in the ECFC after an 0-3 start.

"Those three (nonleague) games helped us to get our game
together," Norwich senior safety Sean Stone said.

Mount Ida won its ECFC game in a big way, 56-7 over Anna Maria.
The big guns in the Mustang attack were again Johrone Bunch and
Scott Drosendahl. Bunch amassed 211 yards and a touchdown.
Drosendahl threw for threescores and ran for two.

Anna Maria, which started football in 2009, is still looking for
its first win and will try again at home this week against
Castleton.

SUNY-Martitime stayed unbeaten in the ECFC and against Division
III competition by rolling past Becker, 47-15.

The Big Games

Amherst and Trinity try to keep pace with one another and each
must win on the road. Amherst is at Colby and Trinity at Tufts.

Plymouth never seems to impress anyone early, quietly gets
better and then is playing big games late in the season. The
Panthers, 4-1 and 2-1 in the Boyd, will try to become the first
team to take down the Gulls when they travel to Endicott.

Norwich is unbeaten at the top of the ECFC, but the Cadets could
get a stern test when Gallaudet comes to Northfield.